JP5903006B2 - Contact lens suction tool - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a contact lens adsorbing tool used for taking out a regular-type or regular exchange-type water-containing soft contact lens from a contact lens storage case.

  As is well known, a water-containing soft contact lens of a regular type or a periodic exchange type is a contact lens storage that has a container body that contains a storage solution and a contact lens, and a lid that covers the opening of the container body. It is housed in a case, and the contact lens is immersed and preserved in a preservation solution with its inner surface facing the opening. When wearing the contact lens, remove the lid from the container body, pick the contact lens with one finger and remove it from the container body, then transfer the contact lens to the other finger and then the surface of the eyeball Attach to.

  By the way, in the method of picking a contact lens with a finger and putting it on the eye, the inner surface of the contact lens that directly contacts the cornea surface may be contaminated by germs attached to the finger, etc. was there. Further, when an artificial nail or the like is used, it is difficult to pick the contact lens with fingers, and the contact lens may be damaged by the contact of the artificial nail, so that the mounting operation is difficult.

  Therefore, JP 2000-245765 A (Patent Document 1) proposes a contact lens wearing tool having a structure like a dropper. According to this, by applying a suction force to the outer surface of the contact lens, it is possible to move the contact lens without directly touching it with fingers and take it out from the contact lens storage case.

  However, while holding the contact lens by such a suction force is effective for a hard contact lens having excellent shape stability, the soft contact lens easily deformed is sucked into the nozzle opening, The occurrence of deformation and tearing becomes a problem.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-32772 (Patent Document 2) discloses a contact lens attaching / detaching tool having a structure like tweezers as another tool that can attach / detach a contact lens without directly touching it with a finger. That is, in the contact lens attaching / detaching tool disclosed in Patent Document 2, the cotton swabs respectively fixed to the V-shaped first gripping piece and the second gripping piece are operated, and the contact lens is sandwiched between the cotton swabs instead of fingers. It can be picked.

  However, the contact lens attaching / detaching tool described in Patent Document 2 is also used for mounting a soft contact lens, even if it is effective for mounting a hard contact lens, like the contact lens mounting tool described in Patent Document 1. It was difficult. In other words, the soft contact lens is made of a thin and highly flexible synthetic resin and easily deforms by the action of external force. Therefore, when the pin is not sufficiently pinched with a cotton swab, the soft contact lens falls off between the swabs. There is a risk. On the other hand, if it is pinched strongly with a cotton swab, the soft contact lens may be folded in half and may not be worn.

JP 2000-245765 A JP 2010-32772 A

  The present invention has been made in the background of the above-mentioned circumstances, and the solution to the problem is that the inner surface of the contact lens can be attached to the eye while being kept clean, and the contact lens is excessively deformed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a contact lens adsorbing tool having a novel structure that can be easily held without being removed and taken out from a contact lens storage case.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention made to solve the above-described problems will be described. In addition, the component employ | adopted in each aspect as described below is employable by arbitrary combinations as much as possible.

That is, the first aspect of the present invention relating to the contact lens suction tool is used for the user to take out and wear the contact lens immersed in the storage solution with the concave inner surface facing the upper opening in the storage case. is, from the storage case a contact lens sucker for taking out the contact lens, and a grip portion, with being supported by the grip portion, the contact in close contact with the contact lens immersed in the preservative solution lens comprises a contact lens holding unit for holding, in the contact lens holding unit, direct surface facing the inner surface by covering the inner surface in contact close to the outer periphery of the inner surface of the contact lens the preservative solution is interposed attracts and holds the contact lens by surface tension action of the storage solution between the closed unconnected to external Adsorption unit that forms image stock solution filling area is the one in which the provided.

  If the contact lens suction tool structured according to this embodiment is used, the contact lens immersed in the storage solution inside the contact lens storage case is held in the state where the inner surface of the contact lens is sucked and held by the suction portion of the contact lens holding portion. Can be taken out of the contact lens storage case. Thus, when the contact lens is taken out from the contact lens storage case, the finger does not touch the inner surface of the contact lens, and contamination of the inner surface of the contact lens due to the finger contact can be advantageously prevented. In addition, it is not necessary to insert a finger into the narrow contact lens storage case for operation, and the possibility of damaging the contact lens with a nail or the like can be reduced. Also, by holding the outer peripheral edge of the outer surface of the contact lens sucked and held by the sucking part between the thumb and forefinger or middle finger, the contact lens is removed from the sucking part and the contact lens is placed on the belly of another finger Can be mounted on the cornea. Therefore, since the contact lens can be mounted on the cornea with a small number of operations without the finger touching the inner surface of the contact lens, it is possible to improve operability and prevent contamination of the contact lens.

  The contact lens inner surface is adsorbed to the adsorbing part by filling the storage liquid between the inner surface of the contact lens and the adsorbing part by bringing the outer peripheral edge of the inner surface of the contact lens into close contact with the adsorbing part by the surface tension of the preserving liquid. Realized in a state where the area is defined. Therefore, only by bringing the adsorption part close to the inner surface of the contact lens in the preservation solution, the adsorption part can be sucked and adsorbed by the surface tension of the preservation solution. This eliminates the need to pick up the contact lens when removing the contact lens from the contact lens storage case, improving the operability of taking out and advantageously preventing excessive deformation or dropping of the contact lens. it can.

  In addition, since the contact lens is sucked and held on the suction part of the contact lens holding part by using the surface tension of the preservation solution, compared to the case of using a syringe or tweezer structure tool as in the past. The local external force applied to the contact lens can be greatly reduced, and the contact lens immersed in the storage solution can be easily removed while eliminating the possibility of damage or damage to the contact lens.

  The shape of the adsorbing portion can be appropriately set in consideration of the surface roughness of the adsorbing portion, such as the viscosity of the preserving solution, the volume of the preserving solution filling region, the curvature of the outer peripheral edge of the inner surface of the contact lens. In short, as long as the adsorption force due to the surface tension of the preservation solution in the preservation solution filling region can be exhibited, the adsorption portion can be configured in an arbitrary shape such as a substantially flat protruding surface, a concave surface, or a convex surface.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention relating to a contact lens suction tool, in the contact lens suction tool described in the first aspect, the suction part has a spherical shell convex surface shape, and the curvature radius of the suction part is: The radius of curvature of the inner surface of the contact lens is made larger.

  According to this aspect, since the attracting portion has a spherical shell convex shape and is configured with a radius of curvature larger than the curvature radius of the inner surface of the substantially spherical shell concave contact lens, the contact lens inner surface and the attracting portion It is possible to more reliably realize that the outer peripheral edge portion of the inner surface of the contact lens is brought into close contact with the adsorption portion by the surface tension of the storage solution while the storage solution filling region is reliably defined therebetween. As a result, it is possible to more advantageously realize improvement in the operability of taking out the contact lens by adsorbing it to the spherical shell convex-shaped adsorbing portion.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention relating to the contact lens suction tool, in the contact lens suction tool described in the second aspect, the radius of curvature of the suction part: R is set in a range of 10 mm ≦ R ≦ 15 mm. Is.

  According to this aspect, since the radius of curvature R of the attracting portion is set in a range of 10 mm ≦ R ≦ 15 mm, the general radius of curvature R of the contact lens (for example, 8.6 mm) It is possible to more reliably realize that the outer peripheral edge portion of the inner surface of the contact lens is brought into close contact with the adsorption portion by the surface tension of the storage solution. More preferably, the radius of curvature of the adsorption portion: R is set in a range of 12 mm ≦ R ≦ 13 mm.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention relating to a contact lens suction tool, in the contact lens suction tool described in any one of the first to third aspects, the suction part has a surface roughness of Ra 25.0 μm or less. It is what.

  According to this aspect, since the surface roughness of the adsorption part is set to Ra 25.0 μm or less, the adhesion is more advantageously realized by the surface tension of the storage solution with respect to the adsorption part at the outer peripheral edge of the inner surface of the contact lens. The More preferably, the surface roughness of the adsorption part is set to Ra 6.3 μm or less.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention relating to a contact lens suction tool, in the contact lens suction tool described in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the grip portion has a rod shape, and the grip portion The contact lens holding part is provided at one end of the lens, and the contact lens holding part has a spherical shell convex surface shape protruding to the opposite side of the other end of the gripping part.

  According to this aspect, since the protruding direction of the grip portion and the protruding direction of the suction portion are opposite directions, the suction portion of the contact lens holding portion is stored in the contact lens while the upper end portion of the grip portion is held. It can be inserted from above the case, and the operability can be further improved.

  According to the contact lens suction tool of the present invention, the contact lens can be taken out from the storage case while the inner surface of the contact lens is sucked and held by the suction portion of the contact lens holding portion. Thus, when the contact lens is taken out from the contact lens storage case, the finger does not touch the inner surface of the contact lens, and contamination of the inner surface of the contact lens due to the finger contact can be advantageously prevented. In addition, because the surface tension of the preservation solution is used to attract and hold, the local external force applied to the contact lens compared to when using a syringe or tweezers tool as in the past. The contact lens immersed in the storage solution can be easily removed while eliminating the possibility of damage or damage to the contact lens.

The side view which shows the contact lens suction tool as one Embodiment of this invention. The front view of the contact lens suction tool. The top view of the contact lens suction tool. The side view at the time of lid opening of a contact lens preservation case. The top view of the container main body and the contact lens adsorption tool which comprise the contact lens storage case for demonstrating the state of contact lens adsorption | suction. VI-VI sectional drawing in FIG. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing for demonstrating the state at the time of contact lens extraction. The bottom view of the contact lens suction tool for demonstrating the state at the time of contact lens pick-up. It is a side view for demonstrating the state which wears a contact lens to eyes, Comprising: The state in which the contact lens was mounted facing the inner surface up on fingers is shown.

  Hereinafter, in order to clarify the present invention more specifically, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, the contact lens suction tool 10 as 1st embodiment of this invention is shown by FIGS. 1-3. The contact lens adsorbing tool 10 is supported by the gripping part 12 and the gripping part 12, and also holds the contact lens 24 in close contact with the contact lens 24 immersed in the storage liquid 36 as will be described later. Part 14, in addition to polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer resin (ABS), etc. The synthetic resin material is integrally formed by injection molding or the like. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the vertical direction refers to the vertical direction in FIG.

  More specifically, the grip portion 12 has a rod shape, and a contact lens holding portion 14 is provided at a lower end portion that is one end portion of the grip portion 12, while an upper end portion that is the other end portion of the grip portion 12. 16 has a flat shape so as to be easily gripped. Further, the grip portion 12 is formed to be slightly inclined to one side (right direction in FIG. 1) with respect to the central axis of the contact lens holding portion 14.

  Further, the contact lens holding portion 14 includes a thin disc-shaped base end portion 20 and a substantially spherical shell convex-shaped adsorbing portion 22 that protrudes from the center portion of the base end portion 20 to the side opposite to the upper end portion 16 of the grip portion 12. Are integrally provided.

  On the other hand, the contact lens 24 adsorbed using the contact lens adsorbing tool 10 is stored and stored in a known contact lens storage case 26 as shown in FIGS. Yes. The contact lens storage case 26 includes a container body 30 integrally formed with a pair of receiving recesses 28, 28 opened upward, and a pair of lids 32, 32 that cover the receiving recesses 28, 28. It consists of The pair of receiving recesses 28 and 28 have the same structure.

  The housing recess 28 has a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape with an upper opening 34 that opens upward, and the inner diameter of the upper opening 34 is larger than the lens diameter of the contact lens 24 to be housed. In addition, the contact lens holding part 14 of the contact lens suction tool 10 can be inserted. Further, the accommodation recess 28 contains the contact lens 24 and the storage liquid 36 and is filled with a sufficient amount of the storage liquid 36 to immerse the contact lens 24 with the inner surface 38 facing upward. Yes. In addition, although the kind, material, etc. of the contact lens 24 and the preservation | save liquid 36 to be accommodated are not limited, in this embodiment, the contact lens 24 is made of, for example, HEMA (hydroxyethyl methacrylate) or silicone hydrogel. The preservation solution 36 may be any hydrophilic liquid contact lens that can be stored and maintained in a state where the contact lens 24 can be worn and used in the eye. It is assumed that water and those containing a sterilizing component. The shape of the contact lens 24 to be accommodated is not particularly limited. For example, the radius of curvature of the inner surface 38 which is a base curve is 8.1 to 9.0 mm, and the lens outer shape is 13.8 to 14.4 mm. Can be envisaged.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 6, the radius of curvature R of the attracting portion 22 of the contact lens holding portion 14 is larger than the radius of curvature (base curve) of the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24: r. More specifically, the radius of curvature R of the suction portion 22 is set in a range of 10 mm ≦ R ≦ 15 mm, and the radius of curvature of the inner surface 38 that is the base curve of the contact lens 24: r (8.1 mm ≦ r ≦ 9.0 mm). Further, as apparent from FIG. 5, the outer diameter of the suction portion 22 is larger than the outer shape of the contact lens 24 and smaller than the inner diameter of the upper opening 34 of the housing recess 28.

  Further, the adsorbing portion 22 of the contact lens holding portion 14 is formed with a sufficiently smooth surface, and specifically, it is a smooth surface with a surface roughness Ra of 25 μm or less, more preferably 6.3 μm or less. . The surface roughness Ra is based on the JIS standard for surface roughness (JIS B 0601-2001).

  The use procedure of the contact lens suction tool 10 of this embodiment having such a structure will be described with reference to FIGS. First, when taking out the contact lens 24 using the contact lens suction tool 10 of the present embodiment, the contact lens holding part 14 of the contact lens suction tool 10 is placed in the housing recess 28 of the opened contact lens storage case 26. The storage liquid 36 stored in the receiving recess 28 is inserted below the liquid level 40. At this time, since the grip portion 12 is formed so as to be inclined from the central axis of the contact lens holding portion 14, it is avoided that the housing recess 28 is covered from above by the user's hand gripping the grip portion 12. Is done. Therefore, the contact lens suction tool 10 is positioned and placed in the housing recess 28 so that the suction portion 22 provided in the contact lens holding portion 14 faces the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24 while ensuring sufficient visibility. The insertion operation is facilitated and the operability is improved. As described above, when the adsorbing portion 22 provided in the contact lens holding portion 14 is brought close to the outer peripheral edge portion 42 of the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24, the surface tension of the storage liquid 36 works, and FIG. As shown, the contact lens 24 covers the suction portion 22 in a state where the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24 is covered and a closed storage liquid filling region 44 is defined between the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24 and the suction portion 22. Adsorbed and held.

  The capacity of the storage liquid filling area 44 is determined by the surface tension of the outer peripheral edge 42 of the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24 and the adsorption part 22 in consideration of the viscoelasticity of the storage liquid 36, gravity applied to the storage liquid 36, and the like. It can be set arbitrarily as long as it is not broken. More specifically, in the case of the contact lens 24 having a base curve of 8.6 mm and a diameter of 14.2 mm, the storage liquid filling region 44 has a capacity of 77 μl at the curvature radius R10 mm of the suction portion 22 and stored at the curvature radius R15 mm of the suction portion 22. The capacity of the liquid filling area 44 is 180 μl, and the radius of curvature R of the adsorption portion 22 is very large, and the capacity of the storage liquid filling area 44 is 325 μl on a substantially flat surface.

  And the contact lens holding | maintenance part 14 of the contact lens suction tool 10 is taken out from the accommodation recess 28, as shown in FIG.7 (b). At this time, the contact lens 24 remains adsorbed and held by the adsorbing unit 22 due to the surface tension of the storage liquid 36 filled in the storage liquid filling region 44 between the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24 and the adsorbing unit 22. It is taken out. Next, the contact lens suction tool 10 is turned over as shown in FIG. 7C, and the outer peripheral edge 52 of the outer surface 50 of the contact lens 24 is pushed with the thumb 46 and the index finger 48 as shown in FIG. Break. As a result, the storage liquid 36 stored in the storage liquid filling area 44 flows out, so that the close contact due to the surface tension is quickly eliminated, and the contact lens 24 can be removed from the suction section 22 of the contact lens holding section 14. Then, while holding the outer peripheral edge 52 of the outer surface 50 of the contact lens 24 between the thumb 46 and the index finger 48 and the like, the contact lens 24 is placed on the belly of another finger as shown in FIG. Install on top. In addition, after taking out the contact lens 24 from the adsorption | suction part 22, the contact lens adsorption tool 10 is repeatedly used repeatedly.

  As described above, when the contact lens suction tool 10 of the present embodiment is used, the contact lens 24 immersed in the storage solution 36 inside the contact lens storage case 26 is applied to the suction unit 22 of the contact lens holding unit 14. The contact lens 24 can be taken out from the contact lens storage case 26 while the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24 is held by suction. Accordingly, when the contact lens 24 is taken out, the finger does not touch the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24, and contamination of the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24 due to the finger contact can be advantageously prevented. In addition, it is not necessary to insert a finger into the narrow contact lens storage case 26 for operation, and the possibility of damaging the contact lens 24 with a nail or the like can be reduced. Further, by holding the outer peripheral edge 52 of the outer surface 50 of the contact lens 24 sucked and held by the sucking portion 22 between the thumb 46 and the index finger 48 or the middle finger, the contact lens 24 is removed from the sucking portion 22, The contact lens 24 can be placed on the belly of another finger and worn on the cornea. Accordingly, since the contact lens 24 can be mounted on the cornea with a small number of operations without touching the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24, it is possible to improve the operability and prevent the adhesion of the dirt to the contact lens 24. it can.

  Further, the adsorption of the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24 to the adsorption portion 22 is performed by the outer peripheral edge 42 of the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24 being brought into close contact with the adsorption portion 22 by the surface tension of the storage liquid 36. This is realized in a state in which a storage liquid filling region 44 is defined between the inner surface 38 and the suction portion 22. Therefore, only by bringing the adsorption part 22 close to the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24 in the preservation liquid 36, the adsorption part 22 can be sucked and adsorbed by the surface tension of the preservation liquid 36. As a result, the local external force applied to the contact lens 24 can be greatly reduced as compared with the case of using a tool having a dropper structure or tweezers as in the past, and the possibility of damage or damage to the contact lens 24 is eliminated. However, the contact lens 24 immersed in the storage solution 36 can be easily taken out.

  Further, the adsorbing portion 22 has a spherical shell convex shape and a radius of curvature (for example, 10 mm to 15 mm) larger than the radius of curvature (for example, 8.1 to 9.0 mm) of the inner surface 38 of the substantially spherical shell concave contact lens 24. In addition, since the surface roughness of the adsorption portion 22 is set to Ra 25.0 μm or less, the storage liquid filling region 44 is reliably defined between the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24 and the adsorption portion 22. However, it is possible to more reliably realize that the outer peripheral edge portion 42 of the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24 is brought into close contact with the adsorption portion 22 by the surface tension of the storage liquid 36.

  Further, since the protruding direction of the gripping portion 12 and the protruding direction of the suction portion 22 are opposite directions, and the gripping portion 12 is formed to be inclined from the central axis of the contact lens holding portion 14, the gripping portion 12. Even if the suction portion 22 of the contact lens holding portion 14 is inserted from obliquely above the contact lens storage case 26 with the upper end portion 16 held, the contact lens holding portion 14 is provided with sufficient visibility. Since it is possible to position the adsorbing portion 22 close to the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24 and bring it closer, the operability can be further improved.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, these are illustration to the last, Comprising: This invention is not limited at all by the specific description in these embodiment.

  If the spherical shell convex-shaped adsorbing portion 22 is capable of adsorbing the contact lens 24 by defining the storage liquid filling region 44 with the inner surface 38 of the contact lens 24, the radius of curvature R is necessarily required to be constant. It may be an aspherical shape. Moreover, a flat part may be provided in a part of the adsorption part 22, or the adsorption part 22 may be a polyhedral shape.

  Moreover, the holding part 12 is not limited to a rod shape, A flat plate shape etc. may be sufficient. Further, any member can be used as long as it can support and hold the contact lens holding part 14. The grip portion 12 may be configured.

  Further, the gripping portion 12 is not limited to be formed to be inclined from the central axis of the contact lens holding portion 14, and may be configured on the central axis of the contact lens holding portion 14. 12 may be provided with a dent corresponding to the finger.

  Further, the contact lens adsorbing tool 10 may be formed of a transparent synthetic resin material so that the contact lens 24 and the like can be visually recognized from the upper part through the contact lens holding part 14 to further improve the operability.

  In addition, although not listed one by one, the present invention can be implemented in a mode to which various changes, modifications, improvements, etc. are added based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. It goes without saying that all are included in the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the invention.

10: contact lens suction tool, 12: gripping part, 14: contact lens holding part, 16: upper end part (other end part), 22: suction part, 24: contact lens, 36: storage solution, 38: inner surface, 42: Outer peripheral edge, 44: Storage solution filling area

Claims (5)

Contact lens suction tool for taking out the contact lens from the storage case, which is used for the user to take out and wear the contact lens immersed in the storage liquid with the concave inner surface facing the upper opening in the storage case Because
A gripping part;
Together are supported by the grip portion, provided with a contact lens holding unit for holding the contact lens in close contact with the contact lens immersed in the preservation solution,
In the contact lens holding portion, the contact close to the outer periphery of the inner surface of the contact lens by interposing the preservative solution between direct opposing surfaces of the inner surface by covering the inner surface of the storage solution attracts and holds the contact lens by surface tension action, providing the adsorption unit that forms image stock solution filling area is a閉状unconnected to external
Contact lens adsorber characterized by .   The contact lens suction tool according to claim 1, wherein the suction portion has a spherical shell convex shape, and a radius of curvature of the suction portion is larger than a radius of curvature of the inner surface of the contact lens.   The contact lens suction tool according to claim 2, wherein a radius of curvature of the suction part: R is set in a range of 10 mm ≦ R ≦ 15 mm.   The contact lens suction tool according to claim 1, wherein the suction part has a surface roughness of Ra 25.0 μm or less.   The gripping portion has a rod shape, and the contact lens holding portion is provided at one end of the gripping portion, while the contact lens holding portion protrudes on the opposite side of the other end of the gripping portion. The contact lens suction tool according to claim 1, wherein the contact lens suction tool has a spherical shell convex surface shape.

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